ZURICH: Global personal wealth surged last year, with a record number of new millionaires, according to a study conducted by Swiss bank UBS.

Last year saw nearly one million people worldwide become dollar millionaires — the equivalent of 2,600 people a day, according to the bank’s estimates.

The United States accounted for almost half of new millionaires in 2025, adding more than 440,000 individuals, followed by China, Japan, Germany, Britain and France, which each count more than two million millionaires in total.

Switzerland’s biggest bank, which is among the world’s largest wealth managers, produces the annual UBS Global Wealth Report, which assesses personal wealth trends.

It covers all financial and non-financial assets, primarily property, minus debts, with asset values converted into dollars.

“The real story is one of continued expansion: more people moving up the wealth ladder,” the report said.

“The gains… point to a world that kept building wealth, deepening its affluent population and extending a long-running upward trend.”

The UBS said that in 2025, global personal wealth rose by 10.8 per cent in dollar terms, significantly outpacing growth seen in 2024 (4.6pc) and 2023 (4.2pc).

Wealth growth was strongest in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at 17.5pc ‑ helped by a weaker dollar ‑ followed by the Americas at 8.5pc. Asia-Pacific recorded growth of 5.9pc.

US, China lead the way

Over half of global personal wealth remains concentrated in the United States and mainland China combined.

Since 2020, South Korea has led growth in real average wealth per adult across the 56 analysed markets, with gains above 50pc. There have been increases above 25pc in Croatia, Norway, Latvia, Taiwan and Bulgaria.

In terms of real average wealth per adult, Switzerland leads the way on $910,382, followed by the United States ($696,277), Luxembourg ($654,732), Hong Kong ($648,267) and Australia ($616,306).

The report said 42pc of the world population had assets worth less than $10,000; and 41pc have assets worth $10,000 to $100,000.

At the top end, 15.3pc have net assets worth $100,000 to one million dollars and in the top bracket, 1.5pc have more than a million dollars.

The report noted that being a millionaire did not mean having a million dollars in the bank, with owner-occupied property representing the single biggest asset for most people up to millionaire level. So rising property values were propelling people into millionaire status.

As for billionaires, in 47 markets covered, UBS counted 3,302 in April, an increase of 383, or 13.1pc, on the last report.

More than 1,000 live in the United States, with 562 in China and 211 in India.

“We count 18 individuals with wealth situated between $50 and $100 billion and a further 19 with assets above $100bn, 15 of which are based in the United States,” said UBS.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2026